terça-feira, 25 de dezembro de 2012

Where You are Going... Are You Already There (Here)?

This tale is awesome. I
mean… I have been looking for some exercises, handouts, good sites, and the likes on
the internet when I found this short story about a “Mexican fisherman and the
Harvard MBA”. This one is good because we are invited to (re)think about our
lives and try to really understand what we are doing, planning or even going
to. Ok, I know, I know… no more words…

This is the tale:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican
village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat
were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on
the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while. The American then asked “why
didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?” The Mexican said he had enough
to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do
you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening
where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend
more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds
from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a
fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would
sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would
control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this
small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually
New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”

“But what then?” Asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is
right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and
become very rich, you would make millions!”

“Millions – then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal
fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids,
take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you
could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”